Ironbound
by Shadowmaker7734
Summary: Arcee wakes up after five years in stasis and finds out that humans are hunting all Cybertronians. Against her better judgement, she decides to go find her old NEST partner, hoping he is still on their side. Together they have to outrun the Cemetery Wind task force and reunite with the remaining Autobots. If there are any left... R&R


**Well, this is the story I was thinking about in the Iron Savior chapter 11 author notes. Like I said there, it was inspired by three pictures I found on deviantart and the beautiful Peugeot RCZ R.**

**While reading on the TF movies, so I could formulate the story properly, I found out I had no idea on what's going on with Arcee, Chromia, Flareup/Elita-One(?) cuz' the director says all three are dead while IDW says fuck you they're alive. At least Arcee and Chromia are. Anyway, I decided to change a LOT of things from the movies (since bots just tend to disappear from movie to movie) and if there's something different than in the movies just go with it.**

**Here's a few pictures so you can get an idea of how Arcee and the Iron Man armor will look like in the story. Just remove the spaces, add a dot where the space was and you'll get the picture.**

**arcee pre-story raikoh-illust deviantart com/art/Movie-verse-Arcee-339719834  
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**arcee story raikoh-illust deviantart com/art/Chromia-252864440?q=gallery%3ARaikoh-illust%2F26640117&qo=124 (although it says Chromia, there's a reason why Arcee is going to look like that in my story and why she's a 4 wheeler instead of 2) her vehicle mode will be the latest Peugeot RCZ R which I think is a beautiful car. Got other suggestions? Feel free to tell me, just keep it the same type car ( a 2-door coupe).**

**Iron Man armor prolificpen deviantart com/art/Iron-Man-Redesign-2013-264318680**

**If anyone doesn't like my choice for the Iron Man armor please understand that I needed something VERY different looking for this story. I'm also a big fan of the classic look but this design looked like something Bay would make (no matter how much people would hate it) and it fits into the TF movie-verse, at least in my opinion. If I get hate from the reviews I'll change it to the classic looking armor but for now I'm sticking with this one.**

**Oh! Oh! And check out Th4rlDEAL's Arcee designs that were also a great inspiration for her appearance in my story, also on deviantart. :)**

**As this is set in the movie-verse I'll need some new actors.**

**Mark Bennett – Chris Hemsworth**

**Arcee (voice)/ Sadie (yes, Sadie) – Kate Beckinsale (I think she has the looks and most importantly the talent to pull this one off. Just remember the badassery from Van Helsing and Underworld. She's 41 years old and Chris is 31 and it makes some sense to me that an older actress is chosen for the holoform/pretender-form since Arcee is thousands of years old)**

**Other acting choices will be added as new characters appear.**

**There's going to be a lot of flashbacks in this story so bear with me. And I'll use the metric system, deal with it.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this story, and if I get good feedback, I'll continue writing it alongside Iron Savior.**

**Don't own what I don't own.**

**Read and review!**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 1: Awakening<strong>

"_There is one way you survive. Tell me where he's hiding. Where is Optimus Prime? "_

"_Never... Aarrgh…"_

"_Never is here. "_

-MESSAGE SENT-INTIATE POWER UP SEQUENCE-

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><p><em>Washington D. C. …<em>

The old NEST HQ in Washington has been abandoned for five years. After the battle of Chicago, the people of Earth no longer wanted the Cybertronians on their planet. The result of this was the termination of the NEST team and program and soon the hunt for Decepticons began. At least, it started that way. The Autobots were granted asylum on Earth so they could eliminate the last threat of the Decepticons and then they would need to leave and never return. Optimus respected that and promised to take his Autobots somewhere else after they destroyed all remaining Decepticons. But they were betrayed and all the Autobots are hiding now. The task force Cemetery Wind, led by Harold Attinger, was now determined to hunt down every remaining Cybertronian, Autobot or Decepticon. The task force raided every know Autobot hideout, including this old abandoned NEST base in Washington. What they didn't know is that there was a secret lab beneath the base, one that Ratchet formed shortly after the battle with The Fallen. In that lab were numerous Cybertronian medical tools, instruments, status devices, one berth and a Cybertronian in it's protoform laying on top of it. A Cybertronian femme to be exact. The protoform was silver and with no distinctive details except for larger and rounder chest-plates, thin waist and bigger hips which suggested this Cybertronian was a femme. The lab was dark for months now as Ratchet had to stop his operation and escape to protect one of his fellow Autobots. And, now, after months of being inactive, all the instruments and lights in the lab flickered to life. Energon began flowing through the tubes attached to the protoform and the Cybertronians optics flickered to life as well.

"Ungh… " the femme slowly looked around and tried to make some sense of her situation. The last thing she remembers was being in Egypt and getting blasted by a Decepticon and then everything went dark "Where am I? " she slowly got up and began detaching the tubes from her frame and noticed something was very different "What in the- " as she examined her frame, the femme realized she was larger than before. Before she was about 2,7m tall and now she was standing at about 4,5m. Her frame was also bulkier and stronger looking.

"_Arcee._ " a little video message screen appeared on her HUD.

"Ratchet! Am I glad to see you! What is- "

"_If you are seeing this, then I am no longer online. _" Arcee's optics went wide from shock.

"No! I don't- " the message just continued playing, ignoring her protests.

"_I wanted to be here when you awake but fate wouldn't have it. After everything we did to protect this planet from harm, we were betrayed by the humans and are now hunted like animals._ " Arcee couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why would they do such a thing? "_By now you are probably wondering where you are. _" Arcee nodded "_You are beneath the old NEST base in Washington. After our battle with The Fallen I established this secret lab to… Reconstruct you. _" Arcee frowned, trying to understand what Ratchet was saying "_You were severely injured in Egypt and were likely to go offline. There was only one way to save you and your sisters pleaded with me to do it. They gave their lives to save yours. _" Arcee' optics widened in shock.

"No… "

"_It was a lengthy process but I was able to save you, but at the cost of your sisters lives. _" the screen flickered and was replaced with the faces of Chromia and Flareup.

"_Don't feel bad Arcee. We did this willingly to save our little sister. _" Chromia was smiling next to Flareup.

"_Yeah! After everything you did for us, this is the least we could do! Now go out there and kick some major aft! _" as her name suggested, Flareup always had a fiery and cheerful personality. The screen went back to Ratchet.

"_I know you must be very confused and scared right now, but there is no time for that. _" Ratchet's tone suddenly changed to a very serious one "_I have been saying that humans are a primitive race for some time now, but even they are not that stupid. They will find this place eventually. I have tried to lead them off as far away as possible but if you're seeing this message, it means my journey has ended. _" Arcee was overwhelmed. They were hunted by humans, Ratchet was gone and her sisters gave their lives to save hers. Even for a veteran soldier this was a little much to take in at one time "_There are still some of us left on Earth, Optimus among them. You need to go find him and the others and escape the planet. It's not safe anymore. _" a door opened to her right "_This door will get you out safe. Don't trust anyone, not even humans that were once our allies. Many of the old NEST team are now our enemies. _" Arcee wondered if her old partner was their enemy as well. She sincerely hoped he was not _"You don't have much time now since they probably traced this message to here. I have included a list of your new abilities, you will need them. Now go! "_

-MESSAGE DELETED-

Arcee remained standing there, trying to take it all in. Until she found Optimus and the others she was all alone. She was about to move when she heard voices and banging from above.

"Scrap. " they had found her quickly. Arcee had no more time to think and quickly ran out the open door that would lead her to safety. As she ran through the dark hallway, all she could think about washer old NEST partner. Ratchet said not to trust any human, not even old NEST members. Arcee refused to believe her old partner would turn on them. Out of all the NEST members he was most fascinated by Cybertronians. Arcee quickly concluded back then that he was a big nerd. And when she saw his house for the first time her conclusion was right. It was filled with comic books, toys, figurines and all sorts of nerdy stuff. Even though Ratchet told her to keep away from humans she had to make sure Mark wasn't one of the humans hunting them down. That feeling was stronger than her better judgment and she had to make sure. Once she reached the end of the hallway, another door opened and it let her into the outside world. Her internal clock showed it was about 6am and it was still dark outside. Perfect for a quick escape. She looked back and saw the NEST HQ far behind her. Right now she was in a dark alley and the door hidden behind a brick wall shut and concealed itself behind the bricks once again. Arcee slowly walked to the end of the alley, making sure there were no humans around. Now she had to find a vehicle mode to conceal herself and as luck would have it, or Ratchet's expert planning, right across the street was a car dealership. She scanned for a suitable vehicle mode and found one that fit her size and taste. A brand new, silver Peugeot RCZ R. She scanned the vehicle and only changed the color from silver to a cobalt blue. Her parts began shifting and once her new form was complete she was ready to go. Her head got a few extensions and she looked more like her former self, with two white Cybertronian symbols written across it, one meaning Chromia and the other Flareup. Her chest-plate were the front of the car and the glass roof aligned itself to act as shin-guards over her lower legs. Her helm was blue as were her, let's say, top and bottom that looked like a sports bra and panties. Arcee's lower arms were blue from her elbow below with her palms being black. Her lower legs were blue and looked like boots with the glass shin-guards placed above them. The rest of her body was black with some silver part here and there. Arcee examined her new appearance and nodded in approval. She wanted to examine her new features and functions more but time was running out. After a quick transformation to her vehicle mode, Arcee quickly drove off to find Mark. In a world where she was all alone , Arcee hoped she could at least trust him now.

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><p>After a quick internet search while she was driving, Arcee found what she was looking for. Mark was still living on the same address so she went there first. Once she arrived, she scanned the house and saw it was empty. It was about 7am and she wondered where he could have went. Arcee went through his file once again and quickly found her answer. Mark was working as a high-school teacher! Arcee almost burst out laughing in the middle of the street. Him, a teacher? He had the brains for it, but the authority? Mark was a pretty laid-back guy and rarely people or bots took him seriously. This was something she had to see. Arcee found the address of the school and went to see what her old partner was up to. Luckily, no one questioned the cobalt Peugeot with tinted windows driving around.<p>

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><p>Once in front of the school, Arcee took up a parking space from where she could observe all the classrooms. The school had all classrooms facing towards the parking lot and the hallways were on the other side. Arcee "turned off" her engine and a message on her HUD popped up.<p>

-INITIATE COVER MODE?-

This must have been one of those new features Ratchet talked about. Arcee hoped she wouldn't just disappear into thin air. She decided to try it out quickly and agreed. The parking lot was full of students and she waited for them to stop and stare at a disappearing car. To her surprise there were no screams or stares, just a feeling of her frame going limp until the only feeling left was the one of her head. Then it clicked inside the mentioned head, even in vehicle mode, Cybertronians give of a heat signature which would uncover them. Since most Cybertronians concealed their heads as an engine and the only active part of her is the engine now, heat scanners would show the engine as hot and everyone would think the car just arrived and the engine was cooling down. But even that cover wouldn't work if she was at the same place for hours. Arcee had to keep a sharp optic out for suspicious vehicles and humans. Back on her little surveillance-op, Arcee looked through Mark's schedule and found that he was teaching Physics, Robotics, Shop-class and Chemistry. He was a pretty busy man. Then again, after NEST disbanded, so did his salary which was astronomically higher than a teacher salary, even with three subjects. Arcee knew she was losing time and that her pursuers were hot on her aft but she just had to make sure. It was stronger than her. The ring of the school bell snapped Arcee out of her thoughts and the femme quickly searched for any sign of Mark and found him entering a classroom on the second floor. He looked pretty much the same as he did years ago. Short blonde hair, eyes still the same deep blue, clothing still consisted of black shirts and blue jeans. The only thing that changed was his body. Mark was no longer buffed like in his old NEST days.

"Right on time? Things really did change. " Mark was known for being late. Arcee observed the classroom and waited to see how Mark was fairing as a teacher in Robotics class.

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><p>The moment Mark entered the classroom everyone went quiet. His face was deadly serious and no one dared to make a sound. Mark was carrying an RC car in his hands and set in down on his table.<p>

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. " his eyes scanned the classroom "Today is the day you've been waiting for since the first time you heard of my class. Today… " his face suddenly grew a huge smile "We're going to start building our very own… " he pressed a button on the RC car's trunk "Transformer! " the car stretched out, hands, feet and a head appeared and the miniformer stood up. The class erupted in cheers. Ever since he first time he pulled out the Transformers project in Robotics class five years ago school applications have skyrocketed. But that was not the main reason. His classes were very entertaining and had the highest GPA out of all the classes in school. Word of Mr. B, as the students called him, spread throughout Washington and everyone wanted to see it for themselves. The most interesting classes in the world.

"Hell yeah Mr. B! " a female Japanese student raised her hands in excitement and made the devil-horns with her fingers.

"This is not a Metallica concert, Miss Nakadai. " Mark then smirked and made the same symbol "That is in four days. See ya' in the mosh pit. " Miko grinned from ear to ear "Now, let's pair off into groups- " three hands immediately went up "Yes, yes, Miss Nakadai, you can team up with Mr. Darby and Mr. Esquivel. " Mark rubbed his temples since he didn't have the heart to break up the three friends "As for the others, to be fair to all, create teams of three among yourselves and we can begin. All you need is in the boxes in the back. " forming teams was pretty fast, box collected even faster and the most anticipated project of being in high-school began. Creating this simple Transformer toy will take time but in the end it'll be worth it. There are even cases where students go beyond the instructions and decide to combine their efforts to make a more advanced miniformer and earn extra credit. Mark felt proud for every successful and failed attempt of his students but it made him feel even better when students would team up to make something beyond his expectations.

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><p>Out in the parking lot, Arcee as observing his teaching methods and had to admit she was impressed. He managed to be on friendly terms with his students but also maintain a good level of teacher authority. She continued to watch him until 3pm when classes ended and waited for him to exit the building and sure enough there he was, carrying his RC car, surrounded by Jack, Miko and Raf.<p>

"I was thinking we could name him Bulkhead! " the Japanese girl was bouncing around Mark who tried not to laugh at the girls antics "Oh, oh! He could have a mace as a weapon! " this got Mark serious.

"No! No weapons! Or dangerous things! While I was impressed with your volcano, the ceiling is still black and the school board is giving me crap about it. "

"Y-you're not supposed to curse, Mr. Bennett. " Raf said timidly as always.

"We're not in school anymore, Raf, and, for the hundredth time, call me Mark. " this is why everyone liked him as a teacher. After work he was just a regular guy. The horn of the school bus signaled it was time to hurry up.

"See ya' at home, neighbor! " Miko fist-bumped with Mark and the three kids rushed off towards the bus. Mark and Miko lived next to each other and Jack and Raf were just across the street. Mark waved goodbye to them and went towards his old, black Harley Davidson Road King.

"I can't stand this frikkin hiding thing! " Mark looked down at the RC car in his hands and flicked it with his finger "OW! What the hell was that for? "

"Keep quiet until we get home. You wanna' get melted? "

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. " the voice got quiet and Mark opened the left saddlebag on his bike and tossed the car inside "OW! I'm gonna sue you! " Mark closed the bag with a smirk. Arcee watched the exchange which could only be heard by her since the parking lot emptied out fast after school finished. Go figure. The parking lot was now completely empty except for one car and one bike. For an ex-NEST operative like Mark this was smelling fishy.

"We got company. " Mark knew a Cybertronian when he saw one and quickly put on his helmet. He had no intention of finding out if it was an Autobot or Decepticon so he fired up the engine and drove off. Arcee quickly dropped her cover and followed him to the street. Mark looked back at the blue Peugeot following him "Definitely a bot. " he wasn't scared. He dealt with Cybertronians for years and knew how to handle them. Besides, he had something with him that can tip the scales in his favor. Mark just had to find a secure location away from innocent civilians. Luckily, he knew the streets expertly and there was one alleyway about a hundred meters to his right. He looked back again and saw he was still being followed. Mark made his move and took a hard right, followed by the Peugeot and angry car horns. The alley was a dead end for another hundred meters in so this is do or die. Mark reached the end of the alley and took off his helmet. He took off his helmet and heard the car stop behind him. What he did next almost made Arcee freeze to her spark. Mark kicked the right saddlebag on his bike and it opened with sounds similar to a Cybertronian transforming. A rd metal cylinder came out and when Mark put his hand inside it, it closed and formed a glove. Mark quickly dismounted his bike and pointed his gloved palm right at Arcee's hood which he knew it contained her head and therefore would be a kill shot. The most striking thing about the glove was the glowing blue circle on the palm which was pointed directly at her. Her scanners showed extreme energy readings "This is an RT unit that fires a high density muon beam directed by magnets and focused by electrostatic lenses. It will go right through you and melt everything in it's path so give me one good reason why I shouldn't use it. " his tone was dead-serious and Arcee was taken aback by this. He was never like this. Maybe he was one of the humans hunting them down. With a weapon like this it was highly likely but Arcee had to know for sure.

"Would you really kill your old NEST partner? " her voice was different so Mark couldn't recognize her by that.

"What? " Mark glared at her.

"It's me. Arcee. "

"Arcee's dead. " Mark was pissed now "How dare you use her name? Now talk before I- "

"You still sleep with your plush teddy and your favorite Pokemon is Arcanine. " Mark's eyes almost popped out. Those were things Arcee, and only Arcee knew.

"That's true! " the RC yelled from inside the saddlebag. Mark lowered his glove and the glowing orb switched off.

"That's impossible… " he whispered but got serious again and pointed the glove back at her "They could have extracted that information from Arcee's CPU! "

"Mark, please. It's me. " what she did next could have cost Arcee her life but she did it anyway. She transformed and knelt before him "I know it's hard to believe but it's really me. " she looked him directly in the eyes and waited for his reaction. It is said the eyes were windows into the soul and it appeared it was the same case in Cybertronians. Mark lowered his hand once again.

"Arcee… " he took a small step forward before jumping at her and hugging her around the neck "Arcee! " the femme smiled and placed one of her big palms on his back.

"It's good to see you again. " Mark let go and thousand questions raced through his head.

"How are you alive? Where were you this whole time? How did- "

"It's a long story that even I don't believe yet, but right now, we gotta' go someplace safe. " Arcee transformed back to her vehicle mode and revved her engine "I'm being followed. "

"Cemetery Wind. " Mark said bitterly.

"What? "

"The task force hunting Cybertronians, their name is Cemetery Wind. I was asked to join but refused when I heard their real intentions. " this confession brought a wave of relief to Arcee, knowing Mark was still on their side. Mark got back to his bike and placed the glove back into the saddlebag "My place should be safe for now. " once he sat down and put on his helmet, Mark turned on the engine "Let's go. "

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><p><strong>AN**

**Since this is just an idea I decided to stop the chapter here. If I get good feedback I'll continue writing the story.**

**It'd be appreciated if you gave me some acting choices for Miko, Jack and Raf. Somehow I see a young Matt Long taking the role of Jack but that's up for debate.**

**See ya' next time! I hope…**


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